Friday Faves

We’re finishing up the house (wahoo!! I should be able to share some pics next week), heading to a friends’ bday party, and don’t have a ton planned. I’m looking forward to a weekend with the fam, and planning our summer Disney trip. If you have any awesome Disney World suggestions, I’d love to hear them! We already booked the hotel, but would love to hear your fave shows or rides for the girls’ ages. What do we need fast passes for?? I’ve been scouring Brittany’s blog for tips, too! We went to Disneyland often when we were in San Diego, but the girls have never been to Disney World. They’re going to lose their little minds.

In the usual Friday way, here are some faves from the week and around the web. I always enjoy putting this little list together each week, and look forward to hearing about the things you’re enjoying. Please shout out one of your Friday Faves in the comments below if you’d like to join in the fun!

Georgia goodies. When Lisa came over last week, she brought quite the goodie package of unique Georgia gifts. There was local Grassroots coffee, the most ridiculous chocolate-covered Amaretto pecans (I ate like a thousand of them), handmade caramels, grits (the Pilot loves grits!), kalamata fig spread, and an adorable tea towel.

I’ve been enjoying the coffee in a pour-over coffee maker and it is so delicious. It’s bold, smooth, and makes the house smell incredible.

New gear from my friends at Brooks! They sent over some new fitness apparel including this top and these crops + Pure Cadence 6 running shoes. I was definitely in need for some new shoes for treadmill sprints, and they feel so.good. They’re supportive without being too heavy, and I like that they’re not clunky.

Barre Bootcamp is still going strong!! This has been such an incredible challenge, and it really has me looking forward to creating some more coming up I’ve had some requests for a yoga challenge with full-length videos in the fall, so please let me know if you would be interested in joining in!

Happy happy Friday!

xoxo

Gina

Newsletter friends: I’ll have your May workout calendar out to you this afternoon <3

We stayed at the Polynesian last month. First time staying on property and it as amazing! Check out WDW prep school and Touring Plans. They have park tour plans for different ages and interests. I’m sure you have, download the My Disney Expericne app. I listened to 10,000 hours of podcasts, read 4000 things on Pinterest and blog. Biggest takeaway that made out trip was to do less and enjoy more!

we’re staying on property, too, so we can easily get P back for naptime and i think it will be worth it. i will check that out now! thank you! we’re not really the type of people to plan out a ton of stuff, but i definitely want to get fast passes for a few key must-dos

Brooks Pure Cadence are my FAVORITE running shoe I’ve ever tried! They were on sale at Zulily awhile back so I thought I would try them out. I joined OTF a few weeks ago so I’m running on a treadmill more than I usually do and needed some better running shoes. I’ll never wear another running shoe again — amazing. It’s like running on a cloud, haha! Insert all the heart eye emojis here.

I figured you guys would be hitting Disney soon! We go all the time and I think the girls would love Enchanted Tales with Belle (definitely FP), Jungle Cruise, and Little Mermaid. Monsters Inc laugh floor is also cute.

Don’t FP Dumbo, there is a play area that you the girls can play in while you wait. There is a cute play area by Winnie the Pooh ride as well that they would love.

For some tasty food, we loved Saana at Animal Kingdom Lodge (get the naan tasting service) and O’Hana for breakfast or dinner at the Polynesian. Kona Cafe is also a great place at Polynesian for tasty dinner that isn’t as $$.

Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom is also great to have a quiet lunch away from the crowds (and a glass of wine…).

Join the Facebook group Walt Disney World Tips, News and Fun Facts for tons of tips. (Warning: Major Disney nuts in there)

I also wanted to add welcome back East! I grew up in Madison, FL but right on the Georgia line so we did everything in Valdosta. (I think this is how I found your blog years ago!) I lived on Cherry Lake – go check it out sometime (probably 35ish mins from you). Madison has come a long way… cute antique style shops downtown. Totally not healthy but my childhood favorite is the chicken salad sandwich from Norris’ across from the courthouse.

Also, Crayola Experience in Orlando would be amazing for Olivia. Will stop talking now 😉

Hi Gina! I’m dying over the pointe pictures! So fun! And that Georgia towel is great. One of my favorite things I have is a stitched California pillow, very similar design, from a boutique called Cat Studio, which may make the towel too. You should totally get the pillow to go with your towel! And as far as Disney, I’ve never taken kids, but I worked there for a few years in a corporate job, and I can tell you my faves: Philharmagic at Magic Kingdom is all ages and amazing, and you don’t usually need a fast pass for it, because they get a lot of people in for a show at once. For special shows, the Hoop-de-Doo Review is so darn cute, and they give you a fun BBQ style dinner too, while singing and dancing along — definitely kid friendly (and they have wine). Basically you can’t go wrong at Magic Kingdom. Go early, of course, and weekdays are way better. I think Tuesday is one of the least busy days if I remember correctly. Anyways! Happy Friday, friend!

hahah so ridiculous. 🙂 yes, i saw the pillow here in a boutique! that would be a fun one to get 🙂 ahhh i forgot you worked for corporate- i will check out all of these. THANK YOU!! happy friday, friend! thank you for sharing my towel workout on your blog, and i’m so excited for your news!

Disney World was always THE BEST family vacations of all times for me. I get nostalgic whenever I remember them. I LOVE Orlando and I LOVE Disney so much.

My main recommendations are: 1. Disney Springs. You guys cannot miss this one. They have ALL kinds of restaurants in there and the atmosphere is incredible. 2. Universal Studios. I know your girls might be too little to enjoy these parks. But if you decide to go, Island of adventures is a MUST. In case you decide not to go to, then the City Walk outside Universal Studios is pretty good. 3. If you would like to take the girls to eat at Cinderella’s castle in Magic Kingdom, make sure to do the reservation now. It would normally take months to get one. 4. Last but not least, the Orlando’s premium outlets are the best for finding amazing deals on high-end brands (if you’re looking to do some shopping).

these are awesome tips. i forgot about city walk!! SO FUN. i’ll check to see if there are any openings for the castle, too. and LOVE THOSE OUTLETS. (i worked at the lulu outlet when i worked there back in the day!)

We just got back from Disney in February! The girls are going to love it.
We did the Cinderella’s breakfast in the castle which was a hit. There were 5-6 princesses that came around so it was nice to check a bunch of those off without having to stand in line!

We did a family Disney World trip in 2014 and I have to say that I LOVED Animal Kingdom (last time I was there, it didn’t exist yet)! They have the tram through all the animals which is great for all ages and it’s just a really fun park to visit!

I’m looking forward to reading about your Disney experience! We’re planning to go next December. I’ve been several times, but not since we had a baby, so I’m looking for all the tips. I loved Brittany’s post too, super helpful! Have a great weekend!

I may or may not have gone to Disney a bajillion times in the past 4 years I’ve been living here in Orlando. For FastPasses I highly recommend you plan to FP the Frozen ride, Toy Story Mania, the 7 Dwarves Mine Train, Splash Mountain since you’ll be going in the summer (use child swap for P, it’s awesome), The Lion King show in Animal Kingdom, and Dumbo. Since you’re coming in the summer all of the rides will have terrible lines and the parks will be completely packed, so plan to take breaks mid-day and go back to the hotel for naps/pool time. I use Undercover Tourist to plan which parks I’m going to on which days, and I go to the least busy park I can. I also prefer to get park hopper passes so we can hit up more than one park if we want to.

Have fun planning – that’s sometimes more fun than the trip itself! We’re going to the beach on Saturday – it’s supposed to be like 96 or something disgusting like that.

Hello! I had to leave a comment when I saw your new pour over coffee maker. I just bought one too and am still playing around with how to make the best cup. Can you provide the measurements you use for coffee?

I have been using anywhere from 4-6 TBL of coffee and then fill with hot water to the ‘funnel’.

My husband and I just booked our Disney World trip too! We’re going in early Sept. If you want to do the Frozen ride, I hear that’s still in pretty high demand, so I would make sure to get a fast pass for that as soon as booking opens (I think it’s 60 days before your trip). The fastpass+ system is great, but they definitely fill up fast! I also have a whole Disney World planning series I wrote up on my blog after our last trip if you want to check it out!http://www.lisa3d.com/2015/10/16/disney-world-planning-tips-part-3/

I would LOVE a yoga video course this fall. It would be awesome to have alternative to inversions in the video. I have shoulder issues and it’s hard to find yoga videos either without them or an alternative pose to do.

We took our daughter (Liv’s age!) to Disney in February and it was amazing. I wrote a blog post about it and included some tips and dos and donts, and things I wish I knew before, etc. It was a total parenting highlight for us. Yall will have a ball.

Welcome back to Georgia!
We go to Valdosta once a year or so–my son’s birth father lives there (he was stationed at Moody when Moseby was born) and we visit him.
This past February we went to the Okefenokee Swamp after we saw him and did a boat tour. My kids (8 and almost 5 at the time; the baby stayed home) LOVED it.

Hi, gorgeous! I'm so glad you're here. Welcome to The Fitnessista, a healthy lifestyle blog emphasizing quick workouts, quick recipes and adventures as a wife and mom. Though I am a certified personal trainer, group fitness instructor and weight loss specialist, the information posted here is not intended to substitute the advice of a medical professional. Please check out the about page for more info. Thank you for reading! ❤️